Intergalactic flypasts: the 'real' thing

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New data collected at the Anglo-Australian Observatory has delivered the first ever computer visualisation of a trip through the universe - based on actual data collected by astronomers.

The movie, created by Swinburne University, takes the viewer on a virtual trip through the universe, and was shown for the first time at ScienceNOW! in Melbourne.

"Most of us are used to the Hollywood versions of travelling through the Universe but this version is much closer to the truth," said Professor Matthew Bailes form Swinburne University's Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing.

The data is being collected as part of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey which will help astronomers to understand the structure of the early universe and where galaxies came from. Researchers have now measured the distances to 100,000 galaxies in less than two years.

"We have used the information from the survey and combined it with actual photographs of galaxies, many taken using the Anglo-Australian Telescope.

The astronomers have also been using one of the most complex astronomical instruments ever constructed, the 2dF instrument, which uses optical fibres, and can log the position of more than 2000 galaxies on a long clear night.

"Without the 2dF instrument, this project would have taken decades," said Dr Matthew Colless from the ANU.

The researchers hope to log the positions of 250,000 galaxies by the end of 2001, before their allocated time at the Observatory runs out.